Hakuna Matata!
by evilsregal
Summary: "Can we have grubs for dinner?" Regina blinked, turned to Roland, and blinked again, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "- what?" - DIMPLES QUEEN ONE-SHOT BECAUSE WHY NOT? Robin tagged because of science. Henry because of math.


_**NOTES** : Scroll down._

 _ **DISCLAIMER** : Not Mine._

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 **HAKUNA MATATA!**

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He has her wrapped around his little finger, and she remembers thinking the exact same thing some near twelve years ago. Another little boy, with floppy brown hair and the most adorable smile - one would think she be immune to such charm by now. Her own son had worked his doe eyed magic on her nearly every day as a child. Even now, he still sticks out his lip, flutters his eyes and begs in _that_ tone of voice. That face had been her weakness for a very long time, but pairing it with big brown eyes and a dimpled-grin... She never stood a chance.

" _Please_ , R'gina?" Roland plead, his lower lip so far out that she almost laughed. In his hands he held a DVD case, the plastic cover no doubt sticky with remnants of juice, and she smiled. Wiping her hands on her apron, Regina crouched in front of her, taking the case and turning it over. Immediately, she sighed as her gaze was drawn directly to the ' **DISNEY** ' logo that had been the bane of her existence for some thirty years now. Perhaps, she should have found the entire concept of her life as a cartoon absolutely hilarious, and maybe she would have - if Walt Disney hadn't turned her years of misery in to mere vanity. So perhaps she was still bitter over this particular brand - _( god knows it'd been hell going through Henry's Disney phase, even her subconscious had known that disgust ought to rise every time the old hag fell off a damn cliff - and honestly, having her animated counterpart crushed by a boulder was a little overkill, in her opinion )_ \- but at least Roland had stumbled across perhaps the one Disney movie Regina could actually tolerate.

Staring up at her from the cover of the case in her hands, were the words ' **THE LION KING** ', with Simba himself staring back at her. A small, fond smile graced Regina's lips as her thumb brushed over the ridges in the plastic. Wear and tear had truly left this particular copy a right mess, and she made a mental note to look in to buying a new one - but this had been Henry's, and somewhere in their attic lay the video, the old VCR copy that had become truly unwatchable. The tape itself had come out of it's case, and parts of it had been torn off - a casualty of Henry's 'fix-it' phase that hadn't been nearly as successful as some of his others - and Regina had kept it, even though it was of little use to them now.

Besides, Roland should get his own copy.

Glancing up through her lashes, she bit back laughter at the look on Roland's face. All he wanted to do was watch the movie with her, but the clasped hands and the pouted lips made it seem as though he'd asked for the keys to her car. _( Which she would absolutely not give to him until he was at least twenty-five... the same rule applied to Henry. )._ "Do you want me to put this on for you?" She asked his softly, her voice low enough for only the boy to hear. He bit his lip, nodding slowly before smiling at her with red tinged cheeks and she cocked her head to the side, her smile widening as he shyly asked her to watch it with him. Something warm and light settled deep within her heart, sinking in to the pit of her stomach at his request and she bit her lip in turn, looked up and over her shoulder at the kitchen counter where that night's dinner had yet to be made, and her thoughts drifted to the paperwork she'd brought home to work on as dinner cooked, but one look in to Roland's aforementioned big brown eyes had been her undoing, and she nodded at him. "Do you remember how to put the DVD in the player?" She asked him, and he nodded. "Okay, good. Why don't you go do that for me, and I'll make us some popcorn, hmm?"

Roland grinned, a loud 'yeah!' erupting from his lips as he surged forward, threw his arms around Regina's neck and hugged her as tightly as his little body could, before he sprung away and moved to run out of the kitchen. But Regina called out after him, a raised brow and a look in her eye having him blush. She gave the same look to Henry sometimes, when he ran inside the house. But Regina just held up the DVD case, and smiled at him. "You forgot the most important part, Mister Locksley."

"Oh!" He gasped, racing forward and taking it from her hand before disappearing around the corner. Rolling her eyes, Regina stood and replaced everything she'd taken out to prepare for dinner back where it all belong, before reaching up in to the cabinet for the microwavable popcorn she kept stored at the very back. She had to rise on to her toes in order to reach it, but Henry didn't know that they were there, so it was well worth the stretch.

When the popcorn had popped and she'd lightly drizzled melted butter over the bowl, Regina opened the refrigerator and grabbed a juice box for Roland. She was about to close it when she pursed her lips and hesitated. By the time she'd joined Roland on the sofa, she had a bowl of popcorn in one hand, two juice boxes under her arm the fleece throw blanket that she'd picked up from the opposite sofa on the way in. Falling in next to Roland, she smiled at the opening title on the tv, placing the bowl on the table in front of her and handing the little merry man a juice box, keeping the other for herself. Curling her feet up underneath her, she patted the space next to her and smiled as Roland crawled over to cuddle up against her side. Tossing the blanket over them, Regina leaned forward and picked up the bowl, as well as the DVD remote.

"Okay then, Sir Roland - shall we Sing-A-Long?" Looking down, she watched as his nodded against her side, his mouth full of juice and his straw stuck between his teeth. Chuckling softly, Regina nodded. "Sing-A-Long it is."

It had been a while since she watched this movie, and even longer since she watched it with a little boy curled up beside her. As the movie started, as Simba and Nala tumbled down in to the Elephant Graveyard, her hand fell to Roland's head and she combed her fingers through his hair. He wasn't like Henry when he watched these kind of movies. Henry had been so very quiet, taking everything in with absolute fascination. But Roland sung along to every song, getting most of the lines wrong but he had the general tune down. Regina hummed it, softly singing along to The Circle of Life and I Just Can't Wait To Be King. But they both fell silent when the stampede began. They watched rapt with anticipation, and Regina could feel her throat start to thicken. She bit the inside of her cheek as Scar let Mufasa go and the King fell. Regina always teared up here, and she remembered trying to hide it from Henry the first few times, until he'd told her that it was okay, because everyone cried when Mufasa died.

Sniffled from her side as Simba prodded at his father told her that yes, everyone did cry when Mufasa died.

And Roland was no exception.

He was quiet for a little, sucking on a popcorn, but then he sat up when Timon and Pumba appeared, his grin as bright as ever, and Regina hid a smirk. He would love the meerkat and the warthog. ( And her thinking so had absolutely nothing to do with the merry men and their strikingly similar behaviour. ) "- it means no worries, for th'rest of your days!"

Roland sang louder and clearer, this song having been his favourite since the moment he first saw the movie, and he bounced in his seat beside her, his legs hanging off the sofa. "Hakuna Matata! What a wond'ful phrase!" She watched him, rather than the movie, and the only thing that could have made this absolutely perfect would be if Robin and Henry were there to watch the movie with them. But Robin had gone to spend the day with the merry men in the forest, doing god knows what and returning god knows when. And Henry was with Emma until tomorrow night, when he'd return to the manor for the following week.

"R'gina?" Blinking, she raised her brows at Roland, shaking her head and smiling. "I'm sorry?" He grinned up at her toothily, pointing at the tv where Timon had just slurped what could have been a caterpillar, or maybe it was slug, and her nose scrunched in disgust. "Can we have grubs for dinner?" Regina blinked, turned to Roland, and blinked again, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "- what?"

"Grubs." He said slowly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and he hadn't just suggest to Regina that they eat insects for their dinner. "Can we have them for dinner... please?" Speechless, Regina's lips remained parted for a good ten or so seconds before she laughed gently and shook her head, tapping him on the nose. "I'm sorry, honey, no."

He pouted.

"Why?"

Oh god, she thought. Please don't start the 'why' phase yet... please, not yet. Clearing her throat, Regina smiled at him and turned fully, so that one of her legs could hang off the couch with her foot on the floor, whilst the other remained bent up on the sofa. "Well... because we're not animals, are we? You're not a meerkat, are you?" And she narrowed her eyes, leaning a little closer.

Roland's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"No!"

Regina leaned a little closer.

"And you're not a warthog, are you?"

He shook his head again.

"No, I'm not!"

And Regina's head canted slightly to the side, eyes still narrowed, and she leaned so close that their noses nearly touched.

"And I know you're not a lion... right?"

"Nuh-uh!"

She poked him in the stomach and swooped in, kissing him on the cheek. Pulling away, she curled her arm around his little body and tugged him closer, letting him nearly sit in her lap and rest his head on her shoulder as they turned to watch more of the movie, just in time to see Nala chase Pumba through the jungle. "See? Grubs are for meerkats and warthogs and lions... but we can have lasagne, how does that sound?"

He nodded, but she could feel him start to grow heavier in her arms and she knew that he would be asleep soon, that he'd nod off and she'd tuck him in to the corner of the sofa where he'll stay until just before Robin comes home. It would leave her just enough time to throw together a lasagne, and maybe some home made garlic bread, and maybe she might even get a sheet or two of work done before Roland's to be tucked in and Robin all but carries her up the stairs.

Until then, Regina drew the blanket up around his shoulders, let it drape over her legs, and she sunk down a little as 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight?' started to play. She herself began to feel a little drowsy, but that might've been the grey skies and the dark room. She was running her fingers through Roland's hair, when she heard him mumble something in to her ribs. Smiling softly, she looked down. "What was that?"

Blinking sleepily, Roland looked up at her with half his face pressed in to his side, and he smiled at her. "Hakuna Matata, R'gina."

No worries...

"Hakuna Matata, Roland."

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 _ **NOTES** : I need to be stopped, I know, I'm sorry. Okay but, I was listening to my DISNEY playlist as I TRIED to go to sleep, but then I got hit with this one-shot need and, this happened. I don't even know guys, I don't even know. I feel like turning this in to another collection of one-shots based on DISNEY songs but, I don't know. I really shouldn't... I have TPAE to work on, as well as Four Minutes and now Finders Keepers... oh well. Have this whilst you wait. Xo. _


End file.
